Mining minerals from seawater

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About the talk

The world needs clean water, and more and more, we're pulling it from the oceans, desalinating it, and drinking it. But what to do with the salty brine left behind? In this intriguing short talk, TED Fellow Damian Palin proposes an idea: Mine it for other minerals we need, with the help of some collaborative metal-munching bacteria.

About the speaker

Damian Palin·Biological miner

Damian Palin is developing a way to use bacteria to biologically "mine" minerals from water — specifically, out of the brine left over from the desalinization process.

Damian Palin is developing a way to use bacteria to biologically "mine" minerals from water — specifically, out of the brine left over from the desalinization process.